


Never Quite As It Seems

by lunarknightz



Category: Roswell (TV)
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 16:21:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/599750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarknightz/pseuds/lunarknightz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liz has visions of the future; but she never thought things would end up this way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Quite As It Seems

**Author's Note:**

  * For [andbless_mybaby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/andbless_mybaby/gifts).



_The leaves are falling on a bright fall day. The air is crisp, and Liz can almost smell maple syrup in the air. She picks up her daughter, and spins her up in the air. The toddler giggles with delight. She sees her father in the distance and giggles, yelling “DADDY!” from Liz’s arms._

_It’s a moment of perfect happiness._

In that moment, Liz wakes up.

It was Peter Parker’s uncle in the comic Spider-Man that once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Liz has been given a terrific power, the gift of seeing the future, courtesy of alien manipulated DNA. But it’s a double edged sword, seeing the future. It can be wonderful, having an idea of what will happen before it comes to be. But it can also be a horrible burden.  


It would seem that people with a last name of Parker are doomed to have great powers with horrible consequences  


It’s wonderful to have spoilers of happy events. (No matter how much Maria begs her to try, Liz’s visions won’t tell her how the _Harry Potter_ series ends, Who _Gossip Girl_ is on the TV series, lotto numbers, or who will win the next Presidential election. She sees things on a more personal nature- when she touches an item or a person. Liz has flashes of Kyle and Isabel falling in love and getting married before it happens in real life. She dreams of trips to Disney World in silly disguises to outsmart the FBI, and dreams of a future with a little daughter on a bright summers day.

Sometimes, the visions are helpful. Liz sees Kyle developing an alien inspired power of his own- of telekinesis; and is able to support him through the transition. She sees places where they can hide safely, of places where they can stop and make up a little money to fill up the gas tank of the VW.

But the visions are not always so kind. 

The visions can be violent, and full of terrible things. Of being caught and experimented on by the FBI. Of death. 

She has a string of visions one weekend when they’re camped outside Orlando, about eight months after graduation that are so violent she can only shake and cry.. Liz begins to sleep only in cat naps, in stolen moments when the dreams aren’t so likely to come. 

It is Michael who stays up with her at night and makes small talk, about silly things like discontinued flavors of Snapple and strategies for winning at Texas Hold-Em. It is Michael who buys her a set of gloves, of soft leather that fits close to her skin. She doesn’t flash without contact with human flesh, and Liz feels powerful, winning over the emotions.

Eventually, as she gains greater control over her visions, she doesn’t need the gloves as much. Now, she does not always wear them, but she will never get rid of them. 

One night, when everyone else is asleep, Liz thanks Michael. 

He shrugs. “We all need a little armor. It was no big deal.”

_But it was to her._

It is inevitable that they’d grow closer to each other when they’re all on the road. But for the first time, Liz gets a glimpse of just what Maria has seen in Michael. He’s greater than he looks, or even seems on first impression.

 

_”Mommy, let me down!” her daughter squeals. “I want Daddy!”_

_Liz laughs and puts her daughter down, and the toddler runs as fast as she can, only to fall down in a plush pile of leaves. “One baby down,” Liz smiles, “No cigar.” She picks up her daughter and kisses the invisible owie on her daughter’s left knee._

 

She has seen so many horrible futures that Liz is completely unprepared for the one that comes to fruition. In the end, it is not another alien race, or the FBI that changes their world for forever, but a drunk driver.

Max and Maria were out picking up ice cream for the group.

There were no survivors.

Without Max and Maria, the four remaining are rudderless. Slowly but surely they drift apart; until it seems logical to go their own ways. Kyle and Isabel take off together, heading for the bright waters and sandy beaches of the Hamptons. Kyle talks about opening up a bar; Isabel wants to escape her problems by drowning them in riches and wealth.

Michael never mentions leaving, and Liz doesn’t either. It’s an unspoken truce between the two of them to stick together. It’s an easy silence, and they let each other mope and grieve. They’ve both lost a significant other and a best friend. Their grief is so deep that the only other that can even begin to understand it is the other.

They sleep in the same bed, but it is platonic. At night, they both cry. They hold onto each other as life support.

Time passes by in a daze. Days flow into weeks, months, years. Kyle and Isabel send pictures of impossibly beautiful children.

They never stop missing Maria and Max. But eventually, Liz and Michael learn how to live without them.

 

_Liz plops down in the leaves beside her daughter. She has a craving for hot cider, but for now would like nothing more to play in the leaf pile with her child. When she was a teenager, Liz never would have imagined that she could feel so carefree. The FBI and aliens are no longer a concern. She can enjoy just _being_. It’s a heady feeling, and Liz doesn’t hesitate to toss some leaves in the air, causing her daughter to squeal with glee. _

 

When Max dies, many of Liz’s dreams die along with him. She has lost her husband; her best friend. She will not raise children with him, nor grow old with him. 

Liz can’t forsee being happy without Max. She can’t imagine that she’d fall in love again.  
As with so many things in her life, when love finds Liz again, it takes her completely by surprise. 

She is watching TV one Friday night, sharing popcorn with Michael on the couch in the apartment they share. They both reached in the bowl at the same time; and for one electric second their hands touch.

It sends a jolt through Liz, and startled, she drops the popcorn. In one second, she saw Michael in a brand new light. An exciting , electric, erotic vision shocks her to her core. She backs away for a second, not sure how to handle this brand new information. They stare at each other, silent.

A second later, Michael closes the spaces in-between them. The kiss is deep, hot and electric and soon grows to something more. Stars, moons, and galaxies fly by. Their weekend plans are forgotten as Liz’s vision comes true several times over. 

They hold onto each other, discovering new sensations, secret places and desires. 

Michael had once been her friend; in the time since Michael and Maria’s death; he has become her best friend. Now, Liz reflects, as she lies close, cuddled on his chest in the early morning silence, he is a part of her. They are one.

 

_The leaves are falling from trees up above them on this bright, sunny fall day. The air is crisp but not freezing cold. Liz stands up from the leaf pile, as her daughter toddles over to her father. “Daddy!”_

_Michael picks up his daughter in a single motion. Her pigtails are full of crushed leaves. “Hey there, kiddo.” He kisses his daughter on her red, rosy cheeks. “Having fun!”_

_“Yup!” She squeals. “Next, I wanna go on the swings!”_

_“I think that can happen.” Michael smiles. “You okay, honey?” He asks Liz. “Someone in your condition should be a little more careful.”_

_“I’m just fine.” Liz says with a grin, and pats her growing belly. Soon their family of three will be four. “I’m made of tough stuff.”_

_“Don’t I know it.” Michael smiles. “I love you.”_

_“I know.” Liz says, because it’s true._


End file.
